MOBILE, Ala. – The University of Mobile awarded the 2024 Samuel Boykin Medal of Excellence to 2002 alumnus Ronald G. Moore in a ceremony held Feb. 1 in Lyon Chapel on the university campus.

Also during the ceremony, the university presented the alumni of the year award to outgoing university president Dr. Lonnie Burnett, a 1979 graduate who also served as a professor, dean and senior administrator during his 20-year tenure with the university. The award was named in his honor, and the Dr. Lonnie Burnett Alumni of the Year Award will be presented annually to an outstanding alumnus.

Moore serves as a member of the UM Board of Trustees and is a principal market specialist with Alabama Power Company.

“The University of Mobile is a very special place to me. It is with gratitude and humility that I accept this honor. This award means I can be recognized and associated with a man that pursued excellence in academics and in his professional career,” Moore said.

The Samuel Boykin Medal of Excellence was established in 2019 to honor the life of the late Samuel M. Boykin, the first African American graduate of the University of Mobile. The award recognizes outstanding African American graduates of UM who reflect the ideals of virtuosity, faith and charity that Boykin exemplified through his career, family and community.

Past medal of excellence recipients are 2004 alumnus Ira Bates Jr., 2011 alumnus Treii Pace, and 2002 alumna Dr. Tracey Henry.

Moore has been married for 22 years to his college sweetheart, Shay Moore. They have three children: Blake, Brooke and Briley. Blake is a freshman at UM.

“We’re happy about our son being here because we want the Christian component to be a part of his education. We also knew that he would get the skills he needs to be successful in his professional career. Once he visited the campus and saw how beautiful it was, and he met the faculty and staff, he knew this was where he wanted to go to school,” Moore said in a video posted on the University of Mobile YouTube channel. Watch the video here. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/cb5c2e23/4w6IEKRXqk_ygXOe9IYCfw?u=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTB8yE6UYBA

In addition to his MBA from the University of Mobile, Moore holds a Bachelor of Arts in marketing from Talladega College. He is active in the Christian Business Men’s Connection, Mobile Law Enforcement Foundation, Mobile Chamber – Growth Alliance Task Force, and Jubilee Youth Service & Leadership Academy.

Moore said he knew his University of Mobile experience would be different from his first class in the MBA program – business law.

“The professor was a local attorney, and he began every class with a prayer – which is and was very countercultural,” Moore said.

“I developed lifelong relationships with my classmates, the faculty and staff. There was a Christian component to the education I received at UM, which is one of the reasons my experience was so unique.”